NBC10 Investigators tracked down a cell phone sniffer who specifically targeted people using their cell phones on SEPTA bus routes. Not only did he admit to doing it, he thought it was a good thing.
The man, who calls himself Jonathan, told NBC10 Investigators, "I guess I'm taking the law personally, and frankly, I'm proud of it."
Jonathan said he doesn't want to hear people talking on their phones in public.
"It's still pretty annoying, and frankly, it's pretty rude," Jonathan said. Jonathan
said he was activating a cell phone jammer he bought online to block out conversations he doesn't want to hear.
"A lot of people are very loud and have no sense of privacy at all. When they feel like they're bothering me, I just screw in the antenna and turn the switch on," Jonathan said.
An NBC10 employee, whom NBC10 Investigators calls "Brooklyn," said she was horrified when she saw the man jamming passengers' cell phones while she was riding a SEPTA bus to work.
"He was clearly holding this device that looked like a walkie-talkie, with four thick antennas on it. I started watching him, and whenever someone started calling, he would press a button on the side of the device," Brooklyn said.
Brooklyn tipped off NBC10 Investigators, who went undercover and caught the phone thief with hidden cameras.
Minutes after boarding the No. 44 bus, NBC10 Investigators spotted Eric jamming a cell phone. Weeks later, they caught Eric as he got off the bus and told him cell phone jamming devices were illegal.
"From what I understand, it's more of a gray area. From what I understand, it's illegal to stop TV signals, radio signals. From what I understand, it's not illegal to jam cell phone signals under the FCC," Jonathan said.
But under federal law, it's illegal to use, possess, buy or sell a cell phone jammer. The federal government says violating the law could result in jail time and a fine of up to $16,000. Cell phone jammers are illegal for public safety reasons.
Dr. Rob D'Ovidio of Drexel University studies cell phone forensics and e-crime. D'Ovidio said some cell phone jammers can block GPS, two-way radios and even police radios if they are close enough.
"With a cell phone jammer, you can limit all types of communication tools that use radio frequencies. That has the potential to be a public safety disaster. It's a dangerous thing to cut off not only our government officials from communicating with the dispatch center, but also the public from communicating with 911," Dr. D'Ovidio said.
NBC10 Investigators asked Jonathan if he was worried about disturbing someone who was seeking emergency help.
"Certainly, if that happened on a bus, I think I would have been in that situation. Of course, I think that would have been a very different situation; I think I would have called 911 myself," Jonathan said.
SEPTA officials said they have received many complaints from 44 bus route passengers about lost phones. But SEPTA insisted that passengers are safe, adding that they have tested their system and handheld signal jammer alone are not enough.
SEPTA said all buses are equipped with panic buttons. Drivers can also alert police via digital destination signs on the front of buses. The transit authority said it has tested two-way radio communications and insisted cellphone jammers wouldn't affect it. But that didn't make Brooklyn feel any better.
I was there in an exhibition yesterday. Most of the times, i was not able to use my cellphone data internet. But, i was able to make calls with the phone most of the times. Now, i have a doubt here. I happened to call a friend who was also to the same show, and he did say that he was not able to access the cellphone internet there. He said that they had used Network Jammers, though he was not certain about it.
My question here are:
The possible misuse of internet can be one reason to block data services. Also, the method were used, i'm not sure now, when a person decorating high post in the country uses public transport infrastructure.
The possible reason would be high capacity which the BTS (for that particular cell) wouldn't be able to provide. This point needs to be valid, since the network used to fall back to lower generation at times. Again, i'm not sure how the BTS would automatically cut off the channel width based on the number of connections.
As said above, in order to prioritize the audio calls, the frequencies used will get the connectivity to 2G or 3G.
As things stand, technology is eating into the fun of being a teenager, and Ford's MyKey and this device can ensure you're actually safe while driving. Seriously, the poorly named Key2SafeDriving is a great idea (at least in the eyes of parents), as it incorporates a cell phone jammer (sort of) into a key fob to block calls on the highway. Essentially, as soon as the "key" portion is popped out, the signal jammer activates, connecting to the phone via Bluetooth or RFID and forcing it into "driving mode." No jamming actually occurs; it's more like manually controlling the ringer. Anyone who calls/texts you while you're safely driving will receive an automated response informing them of the situation, though we're told a hands-free device is available. The University of Utah researchers hope to bring it to market through a private company within six months, "at a cost of less than $50 per key, plus a yet-to-be-determined monthly service fee."
Texting while driving is a very dangerous blood sport. Knowing that still won't change the behavior of a disrespectful teenager. So, parents, why not take matters into your own hands and install a mini cell phone jammer in your car at home? TxtStopper is a professionally installed 12-volt device that apparently shuts off all communications from all U.S. cell phones in the car when the car is started and in gear -- yes, that includes non-driving passengers. Unfortunately, TxtStopper's website chooses to play on consumer fears rather than provide any real technical details, so we'll just have to trust them that it will work as advertised, okay? For $200, maybe not.
The problem is so bad that yet another state -- Georgia -- has joined 27 other states, the District of Columbia, and Guam in enacting laws that prohibit teen drivers from using cell phones while driving. Georgia's new law, which goes into effect July 1, 2010, is the latest in a nationwide effort to create "no cell phone zones" recently initiated by media mogul and mega-philanthropist Oprah Winfrey.
TxTStopper™ has taken the ‘No Phone Zone’ a step further with the launch of a patent-pending accident avoidance technology that turns any vehicle into a ‘No Phone Zone’. A spokesperson for TxTStopper™ said: “Personal commitments and national campaigns to stop texting, calling and emailing while driving are laudable; but the reality is that we are so ‘addicted’ to communication and constant multitasking that unless our phone is left at home, it will be used while driving.”
An oilfield company faces a May deadline to contest a $126,000 fine assessed by the Federal Communications Commission against the company for jamming signal cellphone calls.
that on April 9, the FCC adopted a notice of apparent liability against Taylor Oilfield Manufacturing Inc. of Broussard, accusing Taylor of using four cellular phone jammers to curtail cellphone use by employees.
Company officials told the FCC the cell jammers, which disrupted cellphone usage, were used to prevent employees from using cellphones at work.
Taylor was given 30 days from April 9 to pay the penalty or respond to the FCC in writing as to why the fine should be canceled or reduced.
Taylor officials did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
The case began after the FCC received a tip and sent an agent to the company site in Broussard in May 2012. The FCC notice said company officials confirmed use of four cell jammers and possession of a fifth cell jammer, which was not then in use.
Use of cell jammers is prohibited in the United States, and the FCC prohibits companies from importing cell jammers from outside the country. The Broussard company said it bought its cell jammers from overseas, the FCC said.
“These unlawful jammer operations posed a tangible public safety hazard by potentially blocking authorized communications” such as 911 emergency calls and other law enforcement communications, the FCC said in its notice to the company. Cell jammers can also adversely affect global positioning system signals.
Taylor representatives told the FCC it tried to block employee cellphone use after a near accident the company said was partly connected to an employee using a cellphone, according to FCC documents.
US prison officials harness new technology to crack down on contraband cellphones but some still want powers to jam signals
Digital privacy rights advocates and tech experts say even solutions less far-reaching than full-blown signal jamming - like the South Carolina pilot - threaten to trample on the rights of prisoners by, for example, sharing legally protected information with private phone companies or carriers.
Digital rights groups have long raised concerns over the push for cellphone jamming systems in prisons, describing them as overreach.
Under federal law, state and local facilities are not allowed to use jamming technology, which is opposed by the telecommunications industry amid concerns that it could knock out signals in areas surrounding prisons.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates communications technology in the U.S., has been wary of signing off on full-blown signal jamming but cleared the way within the last few years for states like South Carolina to implement so-called "contraband interdiction systems."
Stirling is convinced signal jamming is a solid option but does not think it will be authorised in state prisons. It is already allowed in federal institutions.
"I would love to get jamming – I don't see it happening, unfortunately," he said.
Asked if the FCC was contemplating changes, a spokesperson pointed to the federal law banning jamming devices.
Albert Fox Cahn, founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), says both jamming and interdiction systems like the one used in South Carolina are "chilling options" that could have unintended consequences.